My soul mate and I celebrated our 25th anniversary last month…Although we planned our anniversary trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming together there was a little sneaking around going on with some of the details. I thought I would surprise my husband by ordering a small version of our wedding cake from a local Jackson bakery.

When we arrived in Jackson our room wasn’t ready so we decided to take a walk around town. Our hotel was right off the town square and everything was within a 4 block radius. As we walked I began to talk about this bakery I had heard of in Jackson. I talked and talked about the macaroons they made and I expressed how I just had to have a macaroon while we were there. We walked until we came to the bakery I had found online. I asked my husband to wait while I ran and checked to see if they had the desired sweet available at such a late hour of the day. I came out with a little white cake box that held the cake I had ordered weeks earlier. I smiled, he smiled..we walked back to the hotel. What was really in the box was still my little secret surprise.

We walked back to the hotel with the little cake box. Our room wasn’t quite ready so we sat in the lobby in front of the big fireplace and looked through a couple local magazines. The wait wasn’t too long. Finally our room was ready, our bags were taken up and a few minutes later we walked into the most beautiful hotel room. That’s when I discovered I wasn’t the only who had been planning a little surprise.,,the room was filled with flowers. Roses, lilies, hydrangea…where do you find hydrangea in February in Wyoming?

It was so sweet knowing that we both had been thinking about making our anniversary extra special for the other by planning, plotting, researching and seeing to a few extra special surprise details.

The cake was 6 layers of sweet red velvet covered in cream cheese buttercream icing. The flowers were lovely and fragrant…all of my favorites.

Recently someone posed this question to me…Is there a difference between your load and your burden?

My answer was…yes of course there is a difference. But when I tried to articulate the difference I found I struggled to give a clear explanation.

A load is something with substantial weight. Something you can physically see, touch and feel. It is something that can be weighed. On the other hand a burden is something that weighs you down emotionally. It’s a perceived load. It doesn’t have physical traits. You cannot see it, touch it or feel it.

Yes, a load can be burdensome but that isn’t what I am talking about here…

According to God’s word, in Galatians 6, we are to carry each others burdens and we are to carry our own load. We should have empathy and sympathy for those who are hurting physically and struggling emotionally with the things that are out if their control. We should be there to help them carry their burden. However, we should not be expected to carry someone’s load…bail them out of situations that were caused by their choices.

The more we carry someones load for them the less likely they are to learn to carry it for themselves. The more dependent they will become. It will be difficult in the beginning…the load will seem too heavy for them but over time they will grow stronger in their abilities and their belief that they can do it. Empathize with their burden but encourage them to pick up their load and walk.

Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the hummingbird, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential and fight for your dreams. Ashley Smith.

Step up…this is not a political issue. This is a human rights issue. Be Saeed’s voice. Let this be your random act of kindness today. Use your social medium platform today for something other than posting what you had for lunch. #FREESAEED

Pastor Saeed Abedini, an American citizen, has been imprisoned in Iran for over a year for the crime of being a Christian.In recent negotiations with the government of Iran over their nuclear program, his plight was left unresolved by our administration.Use your platform to speak out and demand his release. Don’t have a platform? If you have a voice or a cell phone or email or twitter account or face book page or instagram or linkedin or blog, etc – you have a platform. Use the hashtag: #freesaeed and/or #savesaeed on all your platforms today!What if it were you? What if it was your spouse, son, brother, father?

And lest you think that he is being cared for as a political prisoner know that he is in a horrific, over crowded prison. A prison in the middle of nowhere built to house 5,000 currently holds over 20,000. He…

I am neither a self-professed early riser or a night owl. I enjoy the peacefulness that either time of the day offers. How can I choose between the beauty of a golden sunrise or a majestic purple sunset? One offers me an opportunity to rejoice with the coming of the new day. While the other gives me time to reflect and be thankful for all that the day was.

There is something to be said about starting the day off in the presence of the Lord…Jesus started his day off by meeting with the Lord and therefore set an example for how our day should begin.

I am embarking on a journey this summer. A journey that will begin at dawn each day. Each morning will begin with prayer, include a devotional reading and finish up with a time of quiet and stillness.

I am feeling most challenged by the commitment to the time of quiet and stillness…typically when my feet hit the floor my mind is racing…making my own plan for the day, week, month…rarely checking in with the Lord to see what His plan is for my day.

I have found that it’s easier for me to stay focused when I have a plan in place. Otherwise, I find myself distracted and rambling. I have been known to chase a squirrel or two… I have found the simple ACTS prayer model works for me…This also follows the pattern of the Lords prayer…

Adoration: proclaiming who God is and the attributes of HIS character

Confession: personal cleansing, repentance, putting on Christs nature

Thanksgiving: praise offering, meditation

Supplication: asking, intercession and petitioning according to God’s will

I have created a place that I hope will become my thin place, where heaven meets earth (check out the explanation at 6:00 minutes) …my meeting place with the Lord…If you would like to join the summer session of Hello Mornings click here to find a group.

I am looking forward to developing a great new habit of rising early and meeting with the Lord. This could be the best summer of my life! Let the journey begin…